Bongo Fury

'96 tin top, huge great wheel arches and piddly ickle wheels, have always had a thought that Suzuki Vitara Fatboy wheels would make the bongo look the sweetest thing on the road.. i'm guessing i might have an issue with front wheel/turning circle....but how plausible do you think it is?

2 examples of the wheels I'm thinking of are http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SMITHS-PERFOR ... 4d1ed24a56 and http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Suzuki-vitara ... 339194e7dd

let me know what you think because i've had this in my mind for about 4 years now and i'm thinking 'what the hell?!'

This Jap guy has fitted Jeep Cherokee Wheels.....






being 7.7J he had to fit spacers on the front.... now he fitted 255/60R15 tyres too..... which are 4% bigger than standard....

With 8J wheels you will need spacers and the right tyres to fit....

The Russian owners like oversize wheels. First casualty is fouling front bumper when turning. Easily sorted by removing the bumper stays/struts they said.

4 years of consideration = you've got to give it a go

another one of the Jeep wheeled Bongo

Are you sure the Vitara wheels fit? They're shown as having a PCD of 139.7, whereas the Bongo is only 114.3

Worth a call to the insurance company to see if the are happy with the modification and whether it will increase the premium.

Simon Jones wrote:Worth a call to the insurance company to see if the are happy with the modification and whether it will increase the premium.

That's killed it?

I'm pretty certain any run-of-the-mill insurance company is going to flatly refuse cover if you fit wheels of the incorrect size from a different make of vehicle. There will of course be brokers that will specialise in this sort of thing, but it will seriously limit your options and probably increase the premium.

While organising European breakdown cover for recent trip to France, one of the questions that came up on a number of online quotations was 'is the vehicle modified in any way'. As soon as you select yes (I've got LPG, towbar, air spring assisters, etc) and you get a message to say they are unable to offer cover for as it is non-standard.

Any insurer will do their best to avoid paying out in the event of a claim, so it's not worth giving them any opportunity to wiggle out if it by not declaring this type of thing.

Another thing to be mindful of is that if the wheels stick out beyond the width of the vehicle body, it may not be legal as it will be a hazard to other road users.

mikexgough wrote:

another one of the Jeep wheeled Bongo

Tough as!

Any ideas on the size of tyres on this car?
The post says 255/60/15 but most 4x4 tyres are 70 profile? Any details on this van/tyre?

Hyundai tuscan go straight on with no problem and look good too. they are 16 inch so fill the arches well and dont foul.

I'm thinking 235/55/R18's when I renew, anyone running these? They seem quite cheap. I might have to trim the edge of the front bodykit but not much. I know the speedo will be out and it will probably be even slower, but it will look much better and saves me lowering it which I did not want to do as the 85L LPG tank is quite low at the back.